


Candy Hearts

by eridol



Category: Naruto
Genre: Cross-Posted on Wattpad, Feel-good, M/M, SOFT GAYS, hi i love valentines fics, oblivious dads, this was actually my first kakairu fic that i wrote lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:53:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 17,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23984098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eridol/pseuds/eridol
Summary: With all of his students absent to continue their training, Kakashi Hatake is just a little bit lonely, especially considering how he doesn't have anyone to spend Valentine's day with.Little does he know that Iruka Umino feels the same way.Oddly enough, the two ninja-dads end up finding some solace in each other, sitting on a moonlit bench and enjoying the heart-shaped candies they never got to have as kids.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Sarutobi Asuma/Yuuhi Kurenai
Comments: 9
Kudos: 80
Collections: KakaIru





	1. 2/1

Kakashi Hatake didn't like Valentine's day.

He didn't necessarily hate it either, of course.

It was more a feeling of cold indifference, maybe even a dislike, but definitely not bitter hatred.

He just thought it was a lot of work; mundane C and D rank missions related to people needing things like decorations hung and strewn in preparation for the holiday, putting up with all of the questions about what his plans were from his colleagues, and even worse, the loneliness.

Now, don't get Kakashi wrong. The silver-haired man wasn't one for moping and wallowing in his own self-pity, but he always felt himself frown a little under his mask every time someone mentioned the upcoming festivities for some holiday he was going to be alone on anyways. Worst case scenario, he'd be stuck working. Best case scenario, he'd get to relax at home and read some Icha Icha in an attempt to make up for the love he'd never experienced through fiction and then inevitably lament over his childhood and drink himself to sleep. Often times, the other Konoha ninjas he'd become acquainted with over the years tried to include him in things like Christmas and New Years, but he never joined them, feeling out of place. He'd never really celebrated holidays as a child, teenager, or even as a young adult, and it felt weird to start now.

Valentine's day was in thirteen more days, which would be followed by White Day the following month. Traditionally, on Valentine's day in February, women gifted men with things like chocolate, and then on White Day, men were supposed to return the favor. Kakashi, who had always been single, lonely, and rather gay, felt that the heteronormative tradition wasn't really something he was too enthused by anyways. He wasn't upset that he was missing out on it- no, he just didn't like having it shoved in his face at every opportunity.

For instance, the missions. After Sasuke's departure, Naruto had left to begin his training with Jiraiya, and Sakura was busy training with Tsunade, who was still adjusting to her new position as Hokage. Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma's kids were busy as well and in the midst of training for exams, and the next graduating class of genin wouldn't come from the academy for another month or two. Due to that, there was a slight shortage of people to stick the undesirable festive missions on, which led to a lot of the higher-ranked ninjas being stuck with their usual S, A, and B class work as well as trivial C and D ranked missions. Then again, that wasn't a Valentine's issue- that had been going on for months, though maybe it was because of Valentine's day rolling around that he was slightly more on edge about it than he usually would be. 

Another thing, the awkwardness. He didn't fit into Valentine's day in any way, shape, or form. He never quite blended in with the crowd in the first place anyway, but it was always uncomfortable when people tried to pressure him into joining the festivities when he didn't even have anything to celebrate. 

Thinking back to the academy graduation that would be coming in the next couple months, though, he thought back to the charming academy teacher; Iruka Umino.

Yet another reason why Kakashi didn't like Valentine's day. He couldn't spend it with the one guy he was interested in, AKA Iruka. Maybe they hadn't agreed on everything, but what could Kakashi say? The guy was intelligent, light-hearted, bright, and dedicated to his kids. He was a good person, maybe even innocent despite his career as a ninja. Kakashi had liked him for a few years, actually. He couldn't help it.

Kakashi had been walking through the village, trying to get home when an arm was tossed over his shoulder. He looked over, giving an awkward smile under his mask as he looked over at no other than Guy, who was rambling about racing Kakashi to the top of the Hokage monument or something.

Kakashi only rolled his eyes, halfheartedly entertaining his friend's banter, completely unaware of the brunette who was watching him with a blush on his tanned cheeks.


	2. 2/2

Iruka Umino sighed, frustrated as he sat at the bar, numerous failed drafts of the letter he'd been trying to write for Valentine's day crumpled up and scattered around him on the top of the wooden surface his elbows rested on. A simple water sat to his right- He had a class the next morning and didn't need to be getting drunk, plus his only reason for sitting at that stupid bar in the first place was because Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai wanted to meet up for drinks to catch up. It had been a routine over the past few years, and though Iruka enjoyed his friends' company, his social battery had never had too high of a duration. The brunette preferred long nights spent inside his own home, planning lessons for his students and reading books while tending to his large fish tank and taking pictures of the marine life he'd kept in it over the years.

But there he was... At the bar. His friends, who hadn't had the best of timing through the years he'd known them for, always arrived around eight despite them claiming that they were going to meet at seven. Iruka, on the other hand, liked to be early to things and showed up at around six-thirty. So, there he was, waiting...

Speaking of people who were never on time, there was Kakashi Hatake, AKA the reason for the scattered papers that surrounded him. Groaning, Iruka buried his face in his hands, squeezing his dark eyes shut as thoughts of the roguishly charming sensei started to invade his mind.

He couldn't believe himself.

Kakashi Hatake and Iruka Umino had not started off particularly well. Kakashi was reckless and impolite, someone who hadn't even seemed too enthused about taking genin under his wing in the first place, and someone who often shoved Iruka's former students into uncomfortable and life threatening situations. Alas, Hatake had a soft side, and seemed to mean well, which was something Umino came to realize after struggling with determining the numerous layers and facets that constituted the silver-haired man.

Every once in a while- more often now that Sasuke and Naruto had left- Iruka would see him around town... They would talk. Other times, very seldom, Guy would manage to drag Kakashi along for the gettogethers at the bar- albeit very seldom- and Iruka found that he enjoyed those times more than usual. While Guy would be preoccupied running his mouth, Asuma and Kurenai with being the loving couple they were, Kakashi and Iruka, who were the more introverted of the group, had some sort of unspoken bond as the awkward ones.  
And that was how Iruka developed a crush, not even realizing it until the lazy sensei got bored and dropped by his class one day to say hello, only for one of the students to ask if they were dating.

Unfortunately, they had most certainly not been dating, but the mere question made Iruka short circuit and question his entire existence. 

Valentine's day was coming up, and though Iruka was aware that men traditionally didn't give gifts until White Day in March, he figured that he really didn't care about the social rule all too much- he was gay, which meant that the whole 'girls give a gift and receive one from a guy in return' thing didn't really apply to him, plus the new academy students graduated in March and April, so him and Kakashi would be busy then. So, there he was, trying to write some sort of love letter that would earn him Kakashi's attention.

That's when he heard a voice.

"You're looking well, Iruka-Sensei. Where's everyone else? They said to meet here at six."

'Oh no, oh heck, oh crud- Wait, I'm not even in front of students, I don't have to censor myself-'

Remembering that, he spat out a slew of cusswords, out loud as he realized that it was Kakashi who had popped up behind him, Icha Icha paradise in one hand as he lazily looked between Iruka and the book. "Fuck, fuck, fuck-!" Iruka exclaimed, grabbing all of the failed drafts and closing the notebook he was currently working on, dashing across the room to put the drafts in the trashcan and shoving the notebook in his chunin jacket before clipping his pencil to his undershirt. Out of breath, he turned to look at Kakashi, who was staring at him like he'd just sprouted a tail or something. "Hi, Kakashi! How are you?"

"I'm... Well. I would ask you the same, but I'm pretty sure the answer is going to be 'frantic'. I didn't even know you could physically cuss." Kakashi muttered, blinking in slight surprise before taking a seat at the barstool and (thankfully) changing the subject. "Like I was saying... Where is everyone? They said they'd be here at six, and usually I'm the one who's late."  
"Six?" Iruka asked, daring to take the seat next to Kakashi and blushing when their shoulders accidentally brushed for a moment. Kakashi was still reading that smut book, because of course he was, making the blush on Iruka's cheeks grow even darker. 

"Usually, we meet here at seven... They probably just told you that to make sure you showed up on time." Iruka chuckled, praying that Kakashi wouldn't ask about what he'd been writing just moments before.

"Iruka," Kakashi paused, expression hard to read as he leaned in closer to Iruka. Though the brunette didn't reciprocate, he found himself freezing, perplexed as to what Kakashi's next move would be. "I know you don't like physical contact much, but," A skip of his heart, and Iruka swallowed in anticipation, only to have his eyebrows furrow in confusion when Kakashi tucked a piece of his chestnut-hued hair behind his ears, which the heavy blush had spread to. Just the brush of Kakashi's fingers against his skin had him on fighter. "You had a strand of hair that had come loose from your ponytail. Now then... I guess we'll wait for everyone else, huh? I can't believe they duped me like that."

"Haha, yeah... I guess we will."


	3. 2/3

Kakashi Hatake thought that Iruka Umino was nothing less than weird.

Not that it was an issue. If he was being honest, he'd always liked weird.

Obito and Rin had been weird.

His best friend, Might Guy, was weird.

His former sensei, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki had also been weird.

His students, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno were all incredibly weird.

Kakashi loved weird.

The thing was, it was hard to find someone who was the same type of weird that he was. Though he'd initially thought that him and Iruka were incredibly different, he realized that maybe that wasn't the case as he watched the brunette, who was walking with a book in hand, face coated red.

The night before, they'd had a good time at the bar with their friends, though Kakashi had to admit, Iruka had been acting oddly flustered through the duration of the outing. Maybe it was because of whatever he'd been writing when Kakashi showed up. While the silver-haired man could've found out what the notes were- whether it be through the use of his Sharingan or simply digging them out of the trashcan when Iruka wasn't looking- he decided that it wasn't his place.

Approaching Iruka, Kakashi tapped the sensei's shoulder, chuckling when he jumped and dropped the book in what looked like both shock and embarrassment. Kakashi being Kakashi caught the book in midair, surprised when Iruka tried to snatch it from his hands. Laughing louder, Kakashi held it above the man's head, peaking up at the words.

"Icha Icha, huh, Iruka-Sensei? That's pretty R-rated for someone like yourself." He teased, recognizing the first book in the series by the print on the pages despite the fact that there was a secretive cover over the book to hide the label and graphic design. 

"I-I usually don't read this stuff!" The brunette defended, finally managing to take the book back from Kakashi and shoving it into the pocket of his chunin vest. Kakashi could only laugh, waiting for Iruka to continue. "It was recommended to me by Guy, and he... He said that you read it, which I know is true since I've seen you walking around with a copy in hand almost everywhere you go."

"So you read it just because Guy told you I read it?" Kakashi asked, quirking a brow. The two began to walk in pace together, headed wherever the brunette had been headed. It was a rather mundane day in the village, so Kakashi, having nothing else to do, had been walking around aimlessly in hope of finding some sort of entertainment. Coincidentally, he'd been lucky enough to spot Iruka.

"Well... You do have good tastes, Kakashi-Sensei." Iruka muttered with a sheepish smile, making Kakashi have to pull up his mask a bit to hide his blush.

"I've been told. How are your kiddos?" He changed the subject, pushing his hands into his pockets as he and Iruka walked through the village.

"Oh, they're great! I think we've got a really good class this year! We have a good class every year, of course, but something about this one just feels special." Watching Iruka's dark eyes light up was enough for Kakashi to smile under his mask. Did that academy teacher know how beautiful he was? Kakashi hoped he did. "The genin exams are in a couple months. We have a few more last minute preparations to do, but I'm very proud of them. How are yours?"

"I'm glad to hear that your class is doing well..." Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, looking up at the clouds in the sky for a moment, and then back at Iruka. "Naruto is still training with Jiraiya, so I haven't heard from him much, but as far as I know, he's doing well. Sakura has been improving with Tsunade, which is a blessing. The Hokage is clearly much more suitable for training her than I was, and Sasuke... Well, no one knows anything about him right now."

"Hey." Without warning, there was a hand on his shoulder. They'd stopped walking, Kakashi raising his eyebrows as Iruka gave him an oddly tender and reassuring look. "You know it isn't your fault, right?"

"Huh?" Kakashi tilted his head, a million things in his life that were his fault running through it.

"Sasuke. He's old enough to make proper decisions and he left of his own free will. It wasn't because of anything you did. And Sakura... You're a good teacher, but the Hokage just happens to have a style of ninjutsu and taijutsu that's more compatible with Sakura's than yours was." 

Oddly enough, Iruka could see right through him and his concerns, but Kakashi only shrugged him off and continued walking, trying to keep his tone casual as he spoke. "Thank you for that, but I can't quite recall a moment where I blamed myself for any of that in front of you."

"So you have, just not in front of me, right?" Iruka asked, tone gentle and soft.

"Since when are you so perceptive?" Kakashi crossed his arms, giving the brunette a curious look. He remembered when Iruka had started teaching at the academy- when Iruka had struggled to teach Naruto because of the Nine-Tailed Fox. This Iruka, who had emerged years later, was much more wise and understanding.

"I work with kids, Kakashi-Sensei, it's my job."

"Understandable."

"Hey, weren't you in the a-" Without warning, the brunette was cut off when a certain ravenette stepped between them, tossing an arm over each of their shoulders.  
"Kakashi, my eternal rival!" Might Guy had made an entrance, catching both Kakashi's and Iruka's attention.

"Oh, hello, Guy. I hear you've been giving book recommendations recently." Kakashi mused, gesturing to Iruka, who blushed in response.

"That I have! Now why don't we have a race to Ramen Ichiraku? I believe our score is even right now!"

"That it is... Well, it seems I've got a race to run." Kakashi pulled back, giving the academy teacher a wink, and then a wave. "See you around, Iruka-Sensei."


	4. 2/4

Iruka Umino loved Valentine's day.

The holiday was fun, exciting, and best of all, romantic.

Honestly? He was lacking romance. He'd never had a significant other, never been on a date, never had sex, never even kissed anyone- so, at his age, he considered himself a late bloomer. Quite frankly, starting to date at this point in his life would be awkward, and he'd never be able to openly confess his feelings for Kakashi Hatake; a man who was a few years older than him, a jonin, attractive, and probably had lots of experience on his belt.

While Iruka knew plenty of people in his situation who detested Valentine's day and anything else that would be considered romantically due to their bitter jealousy, the brunette embraced the red, white, and pink holiday. After all, he figured he could live his romance secondhand through his friends, and there were plenty of forms of love in his life that made him happy, those of which weren't romantic.

First, he loved his friends. Seeing them celebrate Valentine's was always pleasant and brought a certain light to what was otherwise a stressful and sometimes dark atmosphere around all of the ninjas of the leaf.

Secondly, he loved his students, and he'd made it a tradition to celebrate Valentine's day with them in class, saving it as a special occasion where they'd all exchange cards and candies instead of going over their regular curriculum.

Speaking of the Valentine's celebration that was supposed to be held in his classroom...

Iruka sighed, standing with his arms crossed as he looked up at the huge box of assorted candy that was far too high for him to reach. 

He'd gone to a few places to gather everything he needed; decorations, cards, pens, festively decorated bags, some party favors, drinks, cups, plates, silverware, festively themed foods (strawberries, cotton candy, cupcakes, cookies, pretzels), and lastly, candy, which was currently giving him the most trouble.

While he'd already bought some candy at the other stores, he'd learned over the years that there was never enough candy for a bunch of ravenous children, and a huge box for a decent price was a good find, so when he saw it, he knew he had to have it.

Unfortunately, he was 5'8, and the damn shelf was a good foot taller than what he could reach.

"Need some help there?"

When Iruka looked to the left to see the owner of the voice who'd spoken to him, he felt his face burn red at the sight of no other than Kakashi Hatake, who had mysteriously appeared at his side- No, he must've zoned out and not noticed the silver-haired man enter the store, but it was still quite the shock to his fragile heart nonetheless.

"H-Huh?" Taking a moment to process what was happening, Iruka rushed to respond when he saw Kakashi start climbing on the shelves. "Oh, no, Kakashi, you don't have to do that!" By the time he'd objected, Kakashi had already made it to the top of the shelf, grabbed the candy box, tossed it into Iruka's cart, and climbed back down.

"You're... Quite stocked up." Kakashi's one dark eye flickered to the completely full shopping cart, to the brunette's arms (both of which had a few grocery bags of the other festive supplies he'd bought hung on them), and then up to the brunette's face. "Celebrating Valentine's day at the academy, I take it?"

"Ah, yes, I am..." Iruka explained, looking up at the other man. How was it possible for him to be so attractive with a mask covering most of his face?

Iruka shook his head. Of course it wasn't just his appearance Iruka was attracted to- No, it was the other man's (what he'd initially thought to be) peculiar personality and strength.  
"I don't remember that being in the curriculum." Kakashi teased, though Iruka only rolled his eyes and gave a playful smile, pushing his cart and walking forward.

Surprisingly enough, Kakashi followed by his side, and the brunette found himself coming up with a response. "It's not, but my kids work hard. They've been doing well recently, and it's nice to give them a small break before exams and graduation. I'm heading out in a moment, would you like to walk with me?"

"Sure... You're soft, you know that?"

Iruka made his way to the register and set all of his items on the counter for the cashier to scan before bagging them. The young woman gave him a price, allowing him to pay for everything with his card before taking all of his items and walking in the opposite direction. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Hm? I didn't mean anything by it, I was simply referring to how you've softened up over the years."

"What can I say? After what happened with... Well-"

"Naruto and Mizuki?" Kakashi questioned, a little quieter now.

"Yes. It did soften me up a bit, but you can't deny that Naruto's softened you up, too." Iruka glanced out the window of the store, noticing the clouds in the sky, heavy and grey, as they made their way to the exit.

"I never tried to deny it in the first place." Kakashi held the door open for him, which he accepted, walking out and allowing Kakashi to follow behind him. Then, they were exiting the shopping center step by step, side by side. "You're jumping to conclusions, Iruka-Sensei."

"You know you can drop the 'sensei', right? We're not at the academy, and we've known each other for a long time now, Kakashi."

They began to walk in pace, silent for a moment before Kakashi turned to him. "Seems like you've got a lot of stuff there, Iruka. Need help carrying it back to your place?"

"Hm... Sure, why not? Let's hope that Guy doesn't interrupt us this time." Iruka chuckled, handing a couple of grocery bags over to Kakashi as he thought back to one of their more recent encounters, which had been interrupted by Guy challenging Kakashi yet again. "That reminds me, did you win whatever his challenge was?"

"The race up to the Hokage statues? Of course I did. You know, I've got one point up on Guy now. He'd better watch out."

"He'd better, or you'll take his legs out from under him- In a metaphorical sense, of course." Iruka rushed to add on that last part, feeling a little awkward as Kakashi's gaze landed on him again. Why was simply being around him so hard? Why was Iruka's heart beating out of his chest the way it was?

"Maybe in a literal sense, too, dependent on whatever his next challenge is." Kakashi started, and Iruka found himself raising his eyebrows in curiosity. "The one before last was a pole dancing contest and Guy fell pretty hard, nearly hit his head on the dancefloor."

"Wait, seriously!?" Iruka sputtered in shock, the mental image of Kakashi Hatake on a strip pole one that he knew would (fortunately) be burned into the back of his brain, and the mental image of Might Guy on a strip pole one that he knew he would repress for the rest of his life.

"Haha, no, but I did have you for a second there."

"You're such a jerk." Iruka huffed, though he had to admit that he found himself thinking that being fooled was completely worth it when he heard Kakashi's laughter; something rare, beautiful, and bright.

"You still talk to me for whatever reason, though."

"What can I say? I enjoy your company." Iruka sighed, looking off to the side with a blush that he hoped wasn't too prominent against his tanned skin, though he figured he could blame it on a cold or the freezing weather if Kakashi had the nerve to mention it.

"You enjoy my company, huh? You know... Now that my kiddos are all off doing their own things," Iruka paused, mind going back to Sasuke Uchiha. He swore he saw Kakashi's perfect façade slip, if even for just a moment, but before he could catch it for sure, Kakashi continued his sentence, completely avoiding the subject of his genin student going rogue. "I don't have much to do. Say, why don't I come by and help you decorate your classroom?"

"I'd appreciate that, but are you sure? I mean, you are a jonin." Iruka muttered, knowing full well that Kakashi should have had plenty of work to do in the upcoming weeks.   
"I'm sure. What day do you usually decorate the room? I'll be sure to stop by and lend a hand."

"A week before Valentine's, maybe a little earlier. I'll be sure to let you know." Iruka assured him, but then paused as he saw his apartment complex out of his peripheral. Honestly, he'd been so distracted that he nearly missed it. That would've been embarrassing... "Oh, seems like we're here. I almost just walked right past! Anyways," Iruka hurriedly grabbed the bags out of Kakashi's hands, knowing that he couldn't have the other man seeing what the inside of his apartment looked like- mainly because of the crumpled papers with failed love letters to said man written on them and scattered about his house that he knew Kakashi would probably be able to read if he tried hard enough. "I'd hate for you to have to carry these all the way up the stairs, and I'm sure you have things to do and places to be. I'll see you soon, yeah?"

Iruka gave a smile, and oddly enough, he thought he saw a pink blush peeking up from the part of Kakashi's mask that didn't cover his cheeks. No, no... That blush must've just been from the cold. Even Kakashi Hatake couldn't hide the effects of the elements on his body. More importantly, though, Iruka saw the impression of what he hoped was a smile under that mask. 

"...Yeah."


	5. 2/5

"Thanks for the help, Kakashi!" Iruka said, looking up at Kakashi as he set up the table that Iruka was going to use for the spread of food that was going to be offered to the students during the early Valentine's day party. Like he'd said he would, Kakashi had come to help decorate, and if he was being honest, he thought he might've been enjoying it more than Iruka was. It was nice to spend time with the brunette- not that he really planned on saying it out loud. "It's really appreciated. I've been doing this all by myself for the past few years."

"I don't mind at all. It's relaxing, actually, and it gave me a reason to dodge all the missions the Hokage kept trying to load onto me."

"Ah, so I'm just an excuse to avoid the menial festive tasks, huh?" Iruka asked, a knowing smile taking over his plump lips.

"No, of course not... Plus, those aren't much different from this. The only thing that really makes this better is that you're here."

"Don't tease me!" Iruka exclaimed, to which Kakashi shrugged.

"Who said I was teasing? Just telling the truth." Kakashi's gaze wandered across the room and to the trashcan, which was full of crumpled paper. Suddenly, the silver-haired man was reminded of all the times he'd seen Iruka recently- particularly the last time he'd seen the brunette at the bar, clearly conflicted as he wrote and trashed numerous papers- at least until he'd noticed Kakashi. When he had, he'd become embarrassed and changed the subject. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask... What are those writings for?"

"W-Writings?" Iruka set out the tablecloth on the food table, making Kakashi have to stifle a laugh as he saw it- pink with red and white hearts, and suddenly, he figured out that Iruka was probably a little more excited for the holiday than he let on. "What writings?"

"Don't act stupid now, Iruka-Sensei," The jonin mused, emptying all of the food and snacks from the grocery bags and setting them on the huge table before throwing the bags away in one of the classroom trashcans. "Almost every time I've seen you walking around town or in the bar where all our friends meet for the past couple weeks, you've been writing in your notepad. Sometimes, you'll even get frustrated enough to rip a few pages out and throw them away. I'm not dumb enough to think they're lesson plans."

"Well, they're not, but... It's kinda personal..." The brunette trailed off, picking up all of the cut-out paper roses and setting one down on the desk of each student, his back facing the silver-haired man.

"Love letters?" Kakashi questioned, taping some of the huge, heart-shaped posters along the classroom walls before looking back at the younger man with his one exposed eye. "Or have you taken after Jiraiya?"

"Absolutely not the second one!" Iruka laughed, clearly nervous as he grabbed some streamers and climbed onto his desk to hang them up on the ceiling before hopping down and running a hand through his chocolate-hued hair. "I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if I wrote that stuff. I don't even know how he does it."

"So they're love letters, then? Could they be for... Me?" Kakashi joked, raising an eyebrow as he watched Iruka's sunkissed face burn rose-red. "Iruka, I'm just kidding. You know, for someone so tan, your blush is really prominent if you get embarrassed enough."

"Iruka-Sensei!" A student called, happy as she walked into the classroom, the rest of Iruka's kids following behind her. They all tumbled into the classroom like a pack of wolves, nearly trampling each other as they raced to the spread of food.

"They're back from lunch," Iruka sighed, grabbing the bags of decorations that were left and gently placing them in the bottom drawer of his desk. "Guess I got caught up talking." Glancing over the huge table of food and snacks, he crossed his arms and grinned. "Oh well, this should do. Thank you again for the help, K-"

Of course, to both men's embarrassment, Iruka was cut off by the loud voices of his students. Kakashi allowed his eyes to fall shut as he listened to the numerous conversations that were being had in the classroom.

"Iruka-Sensei, I didn't know you had a boyfriend!"

"Iruka-Sensei has a boyfriend!?"

"Hey, isn't that one of the genin team's teachers? Maybe we'll get him when we graduate! He looks cool!"

"He's big brother Naruto's teacher, Kakashi! I think I saw them walking home together just yesterday!"

"You think they live together? Oh my God, are they married!?"

"What? But they don't have wedding rings!"

"Well, duh! Of course they aren't wearing them- they're ninjas! They could lose the rings!"

"Yeah, you know how much money jewelry is?"

"Iruka-Sensei and Kakashi, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-"

"All of you sit down right now or I'll be replacing your Valentine's party with laps around the school." All of the chaotic children fell silent at Iruka's uncharacteristically cold words, rushing to sit down in their chairs and create a room that was so silent you could hear a pin drop. "Anyways..." Iruka gave an awkward chuckle, turning back to the silver-haired man. "Thank you again for the help, Kakashi. Would you like to stick around? The kids seem like they're, uh, excited to have you around."

"Ah, I'm alright," Kakashi scratched the back of his neck with one hand, standing there a bit awkwardly. He'd love to stay and hang out with Iruka, but he also didn't want to feel like he was overstaying his welcome. After all, he'd only come to decorate, and he wasn't great with kids. "I've never been big on Valentine's celebrations, but we'll have to hang out some other time, yeah?" With that, Kakashi waved, heading towards the classroom's exit. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Iruka smiled, waving back as Kakashi walked out the door. "See you later."


	6. 2/6

"Kakashi-Sensei!"

It was a relatively calm day in Konoha as Iruka called out to his crush, who he'd just happened to see while walking through the bustling streets. The brunette approached the other man, unsure of what he was going to talk about, but honestly just wanting some sort of excuse to spend time with Kakashi.

"Oh, Iruka, hey." Kakashi waved, placing his copy of Makeout Paradise into one of his pockets. The silver-haired man had a bag, likely from the store he'd just walked out of. Since the bag was white and plastic, Iruka could see its contents; a few bags and boxes of Valentine's Day candy, which he definitely hadn't expected to see in the hands of Kakashi Hatake.

"Are you really reading that book in public?" The brunette questioned, just the mere thought of the Icha Icha series being read with prying eyes around filling him with secondhand embarrassment. Kakashi tied the small grocery bag to one of the many loops on his utility belt so it hung loosely near his hip, the bright orange book peeking out of his back pocket.

"It's a fine piece of literature," Kakashi defended before smirking under his mask. "You know, wasn't it just a few days ago that I saw you looking at the series?"

"We don't need to talk about that- you saw nothing!" Iruka hurried to try and change the subject, embarrassed as he remembered that he'd only looked at the series in the first place because he knew Kakashi liked it. "Anyways, didn't you say that you aren't much of a Valentine's day person? What's up with the candy?"

"I'm not one for the holiday, but someone I know is..." Kakashi trailed off, and Iruka found himself having to suppress a frown. While he knew that he shouldn't be jumping to conclusions, the first thought he had was that Kakashi might've found someone before Iruka had even gotten the chance to make a move. Then again, it could've been literally anyone else- maybe for a friend. "It's for them."

"I see. Girlfriend?" Iruka questioned, wondering if he could get some sort of hint about Kakashi's relationship status or sexuality- he wouldn't try to make a move on a guy who was in a relationship, and the same went for a guy who was straight. Kakashi didn't strike him as either of those things, but he wanted to make sure he had all of his bases covered.

"Nah, someone else. I've never been a ladies' man," Kakashi muttered, but then turned to Iruka with a sly look. "You know, Iruka, you've actually seemed more into it this year than you usually are. I mean, you've always thrown those festive parties for your class, but you've seemed a lot more into it this year than you have for the past few."

"Not too much has changed," He lied, reaching up to nervously run a hand through his ponytail. "I suppose I've just been in a good mood recently."

"Is that so?" Hatake looked past Iruka and at the array of shops and restaurants that littered the busiest streets in Konoha. "You know, I was about to head to lunch. Would you like to come with? It's just down the street."

"Sure." They started walking together, making their way through the crowd. Their hands brushed a few times, and Umino was almost tempted to question if Hatake was doing it on purpose, but he kept his mouth shut as they approached Ichiraku Ramen. Teuchi and Ayame were working away, but since it was mid-evening and Naruto wasn't there, it wasn't terribly- just a few people coming and going with their orders of food to take home. "Ichiraku, huh? I used to take Naruto here a lot."

"Yeah, I know," Kakashi took a seat at one of the stools in the corner, and Iruka sat next to him, both men looking up at Ayame as she turned to them. "And he used to drag me here quite a bit..."

"The usual, please." Iruka smiled as he made his order, Kakashi doing the same.

"I'll have the same as him."

Within a few minutes, the two ninjas had a bowl of food in front of them, and when Iruka turned just briefly to look up at the sky, he looked back at the older man, only to see that he'd already finished his bowl of ramen. It was wiped clean. Of course, he'd heard the stories from Naruto about Kakashi eating ridiculously fast when no one was looking to avoid them seeing his face, but that fast?

"What th- How did you do that!?" Iruka questioned, starting on his own food so he wouldn't have to make Kakashi wait for too long.

"A magician never reveals his secrets, Iruka," Kakashi teased, placing a finger to his mask-covered lips in a shushing motion.

As avoidant as Kakashi was about almost everything, Iruka had always found it difficult to get anything out of him. In fact, he had no idea why Kakashi hid his face. He knew about the scar on the other man's eye, but considering that Kakashi didn't seem particularly ashamed of that and used his Sharingan when he had to without hesitance, he knew it wasn't the copy ninja's eye that he wore the mask for. Iruka would've assumed that it had something to do with the death of Kakashi's teammates, Rin and Obito, but even though he was a little younger than those three, Iruka remembered Kakashi wearing the mask long before that- even before his father had committed suicide.

"Why do you hide your face?"

"I have my reasons, but... Would you like to see it?"

"Your face?" Iruka questioned, slamming his hands down on the counter in excitement. He couldn't think of anyone in the village who had seen Kakashi's full face, and he knew that the kids in the village and even some of the adults had tried to put together schemes just to catch a glimpse. "Of course I would! No one's ever actually seen it- not that I know of, anyway."

"Alright, alright..." Kakashi laughed, placing the gloved fingers of one hand at the top of where the cloth of his mask met right below his eyes, gently grabbing it. "I'll take off my mask."

"Really?"  
"Really... Walah." With that, Hatake took off his mask, holding the dark clothing item in one hand, except...

"Oh, come on!" Iruka spat, disappointed but unsurprised to see that Kakashi had another mask on underneath the one he'd removed. He finished his food and pushed his bowl forward, letting out a small sigh.

"What? I did technically take my mask off," The silver-haired man mused, putting the top mask in one of his back pockets.

"You're cruel, Kakashi." Iruka shook his head, shooting his crush a playfully disapproving glare.

"I'll walk you home," Kakashi stood, pulling some cash out of his wallet to pay the tab. Though Iruka rushed to object, Kakashi shook his head, and he knew that the silver-haired man probably wouldn't let him pay him back. "Maybe if you're lucky, I'll take another mask off."

"Rude! C'mon," Iruka stood up, playfully pushing Kakashi's shoulder. The brief contact with the silver-haired man's clothed but warm skin had his cheeks burning red, so he looked down at the ground in hopes of hiding his blush, crossing his arms. "You think you're funny, don't you?"

"No, I don't think I'm funny," Kakashi chuckled, and God, Iruka wished he could see what that man's smile looked like underneath that damn mask. "I know I am. Let's go, yeah?"

"Yeah... Let's go."


	7. 2/7

It was the next day when Kakashi Hatake was sitting at the bar with some of his friends, his encounter with Iruka the day prior still fresh on his mind as he settled into the booth. The music was loud, the building was bustling, and it wasn't really his scene, but he found that he didn't really mind it as he listened to the casual conversation between Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, and Kurenai Yuhi.

"So, my eternal rival!" Might Guy exclaimed, turning to Kakashi with a bright smile. "Valentine's day is a week away, and as much as I like beating you at things, I'd rather you not be totally alone like I am! So, what are you and Iruka's plans? Would you like help setting up a date?"

"...Iruka and I's plans? What date?" Kakashi questioned, tilting his head. He felt nervous for a moment before remembering that he was at the edge of the booth and could leave whenever he wanted.

"Oh God, they still aren't dating?" Kurenai asked, expression some sort of a cross between horror and realization as she placed a hand over her mouth, covering her rose-hued lips, matching red nails contrasting against her pale hands.

"Apparently not! It must still be a crush, then! Kakashi, my dear rival, I'll help you with a romantic gesture if that's what you need!" The thought of all of his friends knowing about his crush on Iruka made him blush under his mask, sure, but the thought of Guy even coming close to helping him plan a romantic gesture made him want to hurl. Sure, he knew that Guy meant well, but he was so enthusiastic and into the bigger, flashier things that Kakashi knew Iruka wasn't. If Guy tried to help him plan something like that, it'd turn out disastrously.

"What are you going on about?" Hatake finally asked, wanting them to get to the point of whatever it was they were talking about- or, him and Iruka, he supposed. Were his friends getting invested in this, too?

"Your crush on Iruka. You two have been hanging out a lot more recently, so we figured that one of you had finally gathered the courage to ask the other out..." Kurenai admitted, which made both Asuma and Kakashi laugh in disbelief.

"I have a crush on Iruka?" Kakashi rolled his eyes, sarcastic as all of his friends shot him looks of disbelief. "That's news to me."

"Don't act dumb, Kakashi, it's painfully obvious." Kurenai rolled her scarlet-hued eyes just as Kakashi had seconds before, flicking a few stray locks of dark hair behind her shoulders.

"Come on, my eternal rival! Valentine's Day is in a week and love is in the air! Why don't you just make a move?" Guy tossed an arm over Hatake's shoulder, though Kakashi moved away from the touch, and the ravenette quickly pulled back with a small laugh.

"Yeah, the day I admit to having a crush on Iruka is the day Asuma's chainsmoking becomes healthy," Kakashi spat, looking over at Asuma, who had been taking a drag off of a cigarette during his friends' (and girlfriend's) conversation.

"Guess my chainsmoking's become healthy, then," Asuma mumbled, face completely straight as he put his cigarette out in the ashtray that sat in front of him and let it rest there. "Because you just admitted it indirectly."

"Not the day you have a crush on Iruka, but the day you admit to it, which implies that it's pre-existing, which we all already knew." Kurenai teased, making Kakashi sigh in defeat.

"When do you think he's gonna notice us?" Kakashi tried to act casual despite how his friends had almost all just called him out for his crush on Konoha's dolphin, gesturing towards Iruka, who'd actually been sitting at the bar the entire time, not addressing any of them despite drinking with them at this exact bar on a regular basis. Thankfully, the brunette was out of earshot, so he couldn't hear any of the embarrassing conversation that was being had about him.

"He looked over here earlier, I think he's just too shy to come up and talk to you in a setting like this," Kurenai stated, though Kakashi shook his head. if anything, he thought the opposite was true, as Iruka had been approaching him more and more recently.

"True, but you have to remember that this is also Iruka's thinking place!" Surprisingly, Guy was the one who discouraged anyone trying to gain Iruka's attention. "He could be busy!"

"His... Thinking place?" Kakashi focused on Iruka, who was still sitting at the bar. His back was facing them, but Kakashi could see numerous empty glasses and crumpled papers around where he sat, as well as the fervent movement of the brunette's arm from his writing.

"Yes," Asuma started, taking a drink of his beer as he sighed and leaned further back into the booth, the arm of his that was around Kurenai's shoulder anything but subtle. "When he's not hanging out with us, he comes here to reflect or make lesson plans, and sometimes to write, though the writing thing has only come up recently... I haven't been able to figure it out because of how secretive he is. Every time I've asked, he's hidden the writing and changed the subject."

"Well, it isn't really anyone's business, I guess." Kakashi scratched the back of his head, gaze falling from Iruka's back and landing on Asuma's face instead. "If he wants it to be private, he has that right..."

"Fair point," Asuma shrugged, dark eyes landing on the door of the bar when it opened, following by the small bell that rung every time someone walked in. "Oh, is that Anko?" Right as he said that, Anko, who had been the person to enter, walked all the way in and approached their table. She was wearing her trenchcoat over her usual mesh shirt and shorts, her utility belt still on, so Kakashi figured that she must've just gotten back from a mission or something.

"Anko, I believe you owe me some money," Kurenai spoke, letting out a chuckle as she held a hand out, her palm open. "I was right, they do like each other."

"Ah, damn!" Anko yelled, reaching into one of the pockets of her trenchcoat and grabbing a few dollars before handing it to Kurenai... They must've made a bet, which was honestly unsurprising. "Lone wolf Kakashi had to go and let me down! I was honestly expecting for you and Yamato to be fucking."

"Right..." Kakashi awkwardly slipped out of the booth, allowing Anko to take his seat, his one uncovered eye flickering over to where Iruka had been sitting. The brunette must've left during the chaos, both him and his numerous piles of empty glasses and crumpled papers nowhere to be seen. "Well, I should be going. I have plans tomorrow, so I'll see you all around. Bye." 

"Bye, Kakashi!"

With that, he quickly exited the bar, relieved to feel the cool night's breeze flowing through his hair as he fully stepped outside. Of course, his attention was quickly captured by a piece of crumpled paper that was on the ground. 

"Hm? What's this?"

With a sigh, he picked up and unfolded it, immediately recognizing the neat and loopy handwriting that filled the lines.

This was one of Iruka's letters, wasn't it?


	8. 2/8

Iruka Umino was nervous as all hell as he stood at the doorstep of no other than Kakashi Hatake's apartment, face already burning bright red in embarrassment as he carefully knocked on the door.

On most occasions, he'd be hesitant to show up to the silver-haired man's apartment unannounced, but considering that the brunette had accidentally left one of his failed love letters somewhere at the bar the night before and had no idea whose hands it could be in, he felt like he didn't really have any other option. He stood there, waiting for Kakashi to answer while simultaneously cursing himself for not just throwing the damn letters away at the bar. The only reason he'd taken the failed letters home in the first place was that he knew his nosy ass friends were at the bar and he didn't want them to have access to them. Thinking back on it, he realized that he'd been a little paranoid and that if he'd just thrown the letters away, he probably wouldn't be in the predicament he was now. Then again, Might Guy would totally dig through a bar trashcan just to find something he could tease Iruka about, so maybe this would turn out better.

He'd written ten failed drafts, so you dear readers could probably imagine his panic when he got home and emptied his pockets to find only nine failed drafts.

Honestly, Iruka was just going through the list of people he knew who were at the bar last night to see if any of them had found it. If it wasn't any of them, he didn't care all that much since there weren't names or details that were too personal in that letter since he hadn't been able to get past two sentences on any of the ones he'd written. So, his plan was to stop by the homes of everyone he had seen there- Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Guy- and see if they'd found the letter. First was Kakashi's apartment.

A few moments passed, and Iruka wondered if Kakashi was even there. He was about to turn and leave when the door finally creaked open, revealing no other than Kakashi, who looked ̶f̶u̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶s̶e̶x̶y̶ terribly exhausted. The silver-haired man only had his mask pulled up to his nose, so both eyes were revealed, his headband was absent, and he didn't have a shirt on, the only thing covering his muscular body being a pair of grey sweatpants that left little to the imagination.

"Hey, Kakashi," Iruka waved, doing everything he possibly could to keep his eyes on Kakashi's face. Even then, his heart was still trying to leap out of his chest at the sight of Kakashi's eyes trained on him. "How are you today?"

"I'm well," Kakashi answered, opening the door all the way and raising his sharp eyebrows. "Would you like to come in?"

"Sure," Iruka nodded, walking into the apartment and taking in his surroundings as Kakashi shut the door behind them. Though Iruka wasn't sure what he was expecting since he hadn't really been in Kakashi's place for a few years, he wasn't surprised since it hadn't changed much; simple, with white curtains on the one window, a cream-hued carpet, a glass coffee table, two couches, and a small side table with a few drawers beside one of the said couches in the living room. Since Kakashi quickly moved to sit on one of the couches, Iruka followed, sitting on the couch across from him so they were facing each other. Iruka looked off to the side, sighing before starting with, "I wanted to talk to you about something. I was at the bar last night working on something, but when I left, I think I might've dropped a piece of paper."

"This one?" Kakashi questioned, reaching over to the side table and grabbing a piece of crumpled paper that Iruka recognized as the letter he'd dropped. The older man held it out to him as he began to explain just how he'd come across it. "Yeah, I picked it up and read it after seeing it on the ground outside the bar, recognized your handwriting. I was gonna come find you to give it back some time today, but I guess you've done that part for me. That being said, I won't tell anyone what I read since it wasn't really my business anyway, so you don't have to worry about that."

Okay, so Kakashi hadn't figured out that the letter was for him- thank God.

Hey, I've tried writing this a million times and haven't managed to get it right yet, but the main point is that I've liked you for a good five or six years and wanted to tell you since everyone's in a romantic mood because of Valentine's day. I don't know if you're- The letter was cut off at that point by Iruka's own scribbling, as he'd grown frustrated with it and crossed out the following words in pen. 

"Oh, thank you so much!" Iruka smiled, gently taking the letter out of Kakashi's hand before folding it and putting it in his back pocket. "Actually, I'm kinda glad it was you who found it!"

"Yeah, better than Anko or Guy, I suppose," Kakashi muttered, leaning back into the couch and loosely crossing his arms.

"Anko was there? I didn't notice her..." Iruka muttered, embarrassed at the thought of her. Last time he'd hung out with her, Kurenai, Yamato, and Genma, he'd found out that the four and a few of their other friends had bets on whether or not Iruka and Kakashi had crushes on each other, as well as when or if they would start dating. While Kurenai had made a bet that the two would be dating by Valentine's Day, for whatever reason, Anko thought that Yamato and Kakashi had something going on. "Well, she's been making some embarrassing bets about me with Kurenai!"

"The ones about us dating, right?" Kakashi asked, making Iruka's soul leave his body. Though it was impolite and a little weird, he found that he couldn't keep his eyes on Kakashi's face, so he briefly stared at the other man's ripped midsection, which was on full display. Thankfully, the older man seemed like he didn't notice. "Yeah, they told me about that last night... Before you get all worked up over it, don't. I don't mind them teasing about it, I know you don't really think of me like that."

"Haha, yeah..." He agreed even though he knew the exact opposite was true. He figured he'd end the discussion, take the letter, and leave, but to his surprise, Kakashi kept talking. 

"Seriously, though, about the letters... I've never been much of a romantic myself, and maybe this isn't my place, but I've noticed the mood you're in recently." Kakashi ran a hand through his messy hair, pushing it back and out of his face before making eye contact with the brunette. "There's only six more days to take advantage of this whole Valentine's Day craze and make a move, so I think you should get it out of the way. I mean, how long did you say you've liked this person? Years? You only live once, and the worst you'll get is a no."

"No means a lot when it comes from certain people, though..." Iruka gave an awkward smile, feeling terribly embarrassed as the thought of what would happen if he tried to confess to Kakashi crossed his mind. He could only imagine it ending in two ways- Kakashi being weirded out and avoiding him, or Kakashi teasing him about it. Either way, he didn't see Kakashi actually reciprocating his feelings. "This probably sounds ridiculous, but I've always had this looming fear of rejection, and I think I'd rather live not knowing than find out that he'd be uncomfortable at the mere thought of me being interested in him."

"That's fair, but I think anyone would be lucky to have you," Iruka blinked at that, able to see a light pink dusting Kakashi's pale cheeks peeking up from where his mask ended at the bottom of his cheekbones. "You're a caring person, Iruka, and I don't think you realize just how valuable you are to people."

"Really? I'm not sure if I believe that, haha..." Iruka trailed off, running a hand through his ponytail and chuckling.

"I can understand that. Just consider what I've said, yeah? Trust me when I say I know about regretting not being able to say something important to someone because I waited too long."

Iruka suddenly felt guilty as he thought about what he knew regarding Kakashi's past- rumors he'd heard about the older man's father, who'd killed himself after a mission went wrong, the death of Obito Uchiha and eventually Rin Nohara, and all of the time Kakashi had spent in the Anbu- even the nickname "Friend Killer Kakashi", which he didn't really have a lot of background on.

"I know. Thank you for the advice, Kakashi," The brunette stood up, careful to make sure that he had the letter with him as he offered Kakashi a smile and a wave. "I'll see you later?"

"Of course," Kakashi stood and waved as well, walking the younger man to the door. "Have a good day, Iruka."

"You, too."


	9. 2/9

Kakashi Hatake was confused as he walked around the Leaf Village, looking for three of his Ninken, who were nowhere to be seen. Typically, he would arrive home and find all eight of them doing their own thing, but over the past few weeks, they'd been absent more and more. Sure, they always came home at some point during the night and were allowed to do what they wanted most of the time. They were safe and that was what mattered, but Kakashi was curious, and after rereading every book in the Makeout series a good three times that week, he had nothing better to do than look for them around the village.

Plus... Part of him wanted an excuse to visit Iruka. The brunette was probably still at the academy despite the schoolday being over, so he thought he'd stop by with the excuse of asking Iruka if he'd seen any of the missing Ninken.

When he did get to the academy, he was surprised to see Iruka sitting on the wooden swing tied to the tree near the back of the building, no other than Bull, Urushi, and Pakkun with him. Pakkun, the smallest of the three, sat in Iruka's lap, while the other two laid with each other at Iruka's feet. The brunette was lightly stroking Pakkun's fur, occasionally reaching into a paper bag that sat next to him on the swing to pull out a treat for each dog.

It was cute, really, but Kakashi was also somewhat confused, so he approached Iruka with a wave, standing in front of the brunette and his dogs. He looked down at where Pakkun rested in Iruka's lap, raising his eyebrows.

"Pakkun, there you are. I was wondering why you weren't at home. Bull and Urushi, too... Is this where you've been recently?" Kakashi questioned, though he was blatantly ignored by all three hounds.

"Hello, Kakashi! How are you?" Iruka greeted him, sheepishly taking his bag of treats and pushing them into one of the pockets of his Chunin vest.

"I'm well, just curious as to why my Ninken are here."

"Oh, haha... Well, the kids really like them," Iruka explained, nervously running a hand through his ponytail and averting his eyes. "They started coming around every once in a while a few weeks ago, so I feed them and let the kids pet them while I'm teaching. Sorry about that."

"I don't really mind, so there's no need to apologize, but I knew Pakkun had been gaining weight recently and I was wondering why, so I'm glad that I have an answer."

"Hey! Only me?" Pakkun questioned, hopping off of Iruka's lap and onto the ground, circling Kakashi's feet. Urushi and Bull remained in place, Bull even rubbing his face against Iruka's clothed leg. "All of your other Ninken have been hanging around Iruka, too, Kakashi."

"How did this even start?"

"Bisuke and I were passing by the academy one day and Iruka saw us and gave us a few pieces of steak from his lunch," Pakkun muttered, making Iruka sigh.

"Ah, way to rat me out, Pakkun." The younger man stood up, Bull and Urushi doing the same.

"I don't really mind it."

"By the way, Kakashi, what brings you here?" He questioned, tilting his head before reaching down to pet both of the dogs that sat next to him. "Just looking for the pups, or...?"

"Nah, I just came to say hello. I don't have much to do in the upcoming days, so I've been bored."

"Well... If you don't have anything to do, would you like to come to my place for dinner tomorrow? Maybe bring the pups along and I can make something for them, too."

"I'd love to," Kakashi answered, glad that his mask covered most of the blush on his cheeks. "We'll be there."

"Alright, well, I have to get inside and grade papers, but I'll see you tomorrow at eight?" Iruka questioned, smiling. Though his eyes appeared to be so dark that they were almost black, when they were in the sunlight like this, the numerous specks of gold and brown were brought out, and Kakashi thought he could drown in them.

"I'll see you then. Happy grading, Iruka." Iruka nodded before walking away, and for a moment, Kakashi kept his eyes trained on Iruka, waiting until the brunette got back into the academy building with Bull and Urushi before turning to the three behind him. Though they were hidden decently, the one thing that gave the two children away was the sight of the Third's grandson's blue scarf peeking out of one of the tree branches and the barely audible whispering of no other than the redhaired girl that he constantly hung out with. 

"Konohamaru, why are you eavesdropping?"

"Gah!" The dark-haired boy exclaimed, quickly climbing out of the tree with Moegi rushing to follow him. Once they were both on the ground, the redhaired girl stood behind him, nervously pulling on his arm as he pointed at Kakashi. "Moegi, we've been caught!"

"Konohamaru, you didn't have to say anything! Iruka-Sensei isn't even here to protect us!" Moegi exclaimed like she was frightened, though Kakashi only stood there, exasperated as he raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Why don't we run?"

"What do you two think I'm gonna do, attack you?"

"Maybe," Pakkun spoke, walking over to Kakashi and laying at his feet. "You can be scary sometimes, Kakashi."

"Why were you eavesdropping on us?" Kakashi questioned, though he was already sure that he knew what the answer was based on Iruka's class's reaction was to his presence just a few days prior...

"Iruka-Sensei, I didn't know you had a boyfriend!"  
"Iruka-Sensei has a boyfriend!?"  
"Hey, isn't that one of the genin team's teachers? Maybe we'll get him when we graduate! He looks cool!"  
"He's big brother Naruto's teacher, Kakashi! I think I saw them walking home together just yesterday!"  
"You think they live together? Oh my God, are they married!?"  
"What? But they don't have wedding rings!"  
"Well, duh! Of course they aren't wearing them- they're ninjas! They could lose the rings!"  
"Yeah, you know how much money jewelry is?"  
"Iruka-Sensei and Kakashi, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-"

Yeah... That had been a mess.

"Well..."

"Let me guess, you two and the rest of your class are still under the impression that I'm dating your teacher just because you saw me helping him with the decorations for your class party the other day? So, now you're spying on us to try to confirm your suspicions."

"What?" Moegi asked, seemingly confused as she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a quizzical look. "No, it's not just because we saw you helping Iruka-Sensei, it's because-"

"No, don't rat out big brother Naruto!" Konohamaru scolded, stomping his feet on the ground.

"Of course he has something to do with this," Kakashi sighed, both amused and annoyed. Naruto had been off training with Jiraiya for almost two years now and hadn't been in contact with anyone, so this little notion of Kakashi and Iruka must have somehow been instilled in Konohamaru's mind by the chaotic blonde before he'd left. "What did he tell you?"

The redheaded girl went to open her mouth, but before she could speak, Konohamaru quickly cut her off and grabbed her hand.

"Nothing, haha! Let's go, Moegi!"Oddly enough, the girl nodded, and with that, they were running away from both Kakashi and the academy. "C'mon!"

"That was weird..." Kakashi muttered, watching the backs of the two mischievous children as they continued to walk away. Pakkun was still waiting by his feet. "Guess I'll go home, then."


	10. 2/10

Iruka Umino was nervous as he paced around his apartment, the food he'd made in the pot slowly cooling off as he crossed his arms over his chest. Sure, Kakashi had agreed to show up at a certain time, but Kakashi was always late, and that had him wondering if he should've waited to make dinner.

It was ten minutes past the time that Kakashi was supposed to show up for dinner. The silver-haired man's Ninken were already there, as they'd showed up at the academy that morning so Iruka and the kids could spoil them with treats and kisses before subsequently following him home that night. Iruka had made them each their own dinner, of course, and now they were splayed out across the different spots in his apartment, passed out- some on the living room couch, a couple on the kitchen floor, and the rest in his bed. He didn't have any pets of his own, but he certainly didn't mind their presence. They were good dogs, and they reminded him of Kakashi.

Thankfully, Kakashi wasn't too late, as Iruka's nervous pacing was quickly interrupted by a knock at his door. Praying that he looked presentable (he wasn't dressed particularly different, just the same outfit he usually wore minus his chunin vest and shoes), he opened the door, a smile coming onto his face when he saw Kakashi.

"Kakashi, come on in, make yourself at home," He opened the door, allowing Hatake in before shutting it behind them and quickly leading the silver-haired man to his dining room table.

"Thank you," Kakashi sat down, and Iruka thought he could see the older man's smile underneath the dark cloth of his mask. "It smells nice."

"Thanks!" The brunette walked into the kitchen, fixing two bowls of the vegetables and steamed rice he'd made, putting some chicken on top of both before taking the bowls to the kitchen, setting one at his spot and the other in front of Kakashi, who sat across from him. "I hope you like donburi."

"I love donburi."

Iruka grabbed some silverware for both himself and Kakashi, setting them down on the table as well before turning to the older man.

"What do you want to drink?"

"Water's fine, thank you." Hearing that, Iruka nodded and fixed a glass of water for both himself and Kakashi before sitting down. To his shock, Kakashi's mask was actually fucking off, and he was eating like a regular person. What the heck? "Honestly, I've been living off of microwave food and takeout for the past few months, so it's nice to have a homecooked meal like this."

Something made Umino assume that the situation with Hatake's mask was kind of like caring for a frightened animal. If the animal decides to take food from you and you decide to mess with it, it'll probably run away. If Kakashi chose to remove his mask to eat and Iruka decided to bring it up, Kakashi would probably laugh it off and put the mask back on. So, Iruka stayed silent, simply staring in awe. He wasn't sure what he'd expected to see underneath the mask, but it wasn't those perfectly plump lips and the defined but soft jawline that constituted the lower half of the older man's face.   
The brunette couldn't help but stare- at least until he realized what Kakashi had just said about eating nothing but junk, and Iruka found himself gasping in both shock and concern. "Kakashi! That isn't healthy. You need to take care of yourself. Why haven't you been eating well?"

"Lack of motivation, I guess," Kakashi admitted, quickly getting through his food and taking a drink of his water before continuing. "It's easier to buy something or microwave a tv dinner for five minutes than it is to put effort into cooking."

"I always make too much food when I cook and I usually have leftovers," That's a lie, Iruka thought as he took a few bites of his own food. He was typically very meticulous, and the salary of a teacher wasn't much- even combined with the salary of a shinobi. He earned decent money, but he wasn't rich b any means, and he spent most of it on his students or things that related to the academy in general. Plus, after his parents had died, he'd had to scrounge for money until he became a genin, so he'd always been careful with what he spent. That meant careful budgeting and buying of groceries. Typically, he bought just enough food to feed himself three meals a day, those of which were usually cheap and healthy. So, he hardly ever had leftovers, but he didn't want to seem overenthusiastic or like he was trying too hard in front of Kakashi. "I don't mind making you something if you ever want me to."

"Ah, I wouldn't want to bother you," Kakashi gave a dismissive wave as he finished his food, holding up the bowl and changing the subject. "This is really good, though."

"Thank you! Seriously, though, nutrition is important."

"You really sound like a teacher right now," Kakashi rolled his eyes, and Iruka noticed that the silver-haired man wasn't wearing his headband either, leaving his dark eyes visible. It was odd to see his left eye, let alone without his Sharingan activated, but it was a pleasant sight to see his whole face. "I haven't been scolded like this in years. Honestly, you might have a heart attack if I tell you about my other habits."

"I'm scared, but intrigued," Iruka finished his food as well before leaning forward, resting his elbows on the wooden table and raising his eyebrows. "Tell me."

"I don't really have a sleep schedule, so some days I go to bed at four, other days I go to bed at twelve, it really just depends. I don't go to the doctor, really- I think the closest thing I've had to that since I was a kid are the times I've ended up in the hospital from something happening to me on missions. I feed my Ninken better than I feed myself, and I haven't bought a new mattress in, like, ten years, so they probably have better beds than me, too. I have glasses that I'm supposed to be wearing, but I don't because they're inconvenient, and having my eye covered all the time has kinda screwed with my depth perception and vision in general."

"Y'know what? You're right, I'm over here about to have a heart attack!" Iruka exclaimed, slamming his hands down on the table as he looked up at Kakashi, who was only laughing in amusement at the brunette's worry. "Oh my God, Kakashi, you've really gotta start taking care of yourself."

"I actually have some incident reports to fill out after this. I haven't slept in, like, thirty-six hours."

"You are not allowed to go home and immediately start working. I know your apartment isn't that far, but the Ninken are already asleep and it's getting late." He debated on whether or not he should say the next words that were occupying his mind, but he decided to go for it anyways. "Why don't you just stay here for the night? I'll take the couch."

"I'm not making you sleep on the couch, Iruka," Kakashi protested, though his tone of voice was rather half-hearted. "You have work tomorrow."

"It's not that big of a deal. I'm not making you sleep on the couch."

"We can both sleep in the bed," Iruka's face burned at that, and he prayed that Kakashi hadn't noticed it. "I mean, we've done it before."

That much was true. They'd slept in the same bed a few times when they'd been put on the same team with missions, and sure, they'd never been awkward about that, but there had been no other options during those times. This? This was different. Still, though, Iruka tried to act casual, standing up and taking both his and Kakashi's bowls to the sink to avoid the silver-haired man seeing his heavy blush.

"Fair point. If you're alright with that, that's fine with me. I'll get dessert, and then when we're through with that, we can go to bed, okay?"

"Okay."


	11. 2/11

It was the next morning when Kakashi woke up, sunlight streaming in through the blinds of Iruka's open windows. It was barely there, but warm, and based on the faint mix of orange and blue hues that Kakashi could see in the sky from where he laid in Iruka's bed, he figured that the sun was only just rising. He looked over at the clock that was on Iruka's wall, squinting to read the hands in the almost-dark room. It was just past five-thirty. The classes at the academy started at eight, but he knew Iruka well enough to know that the brunette probably liked to get there early.

Despite having woken up a few times in the middle of the night, Kakashi had managed to get the best rest he'd had in years; no nightmares, no cold, no missions or emergency calls from the Hokage to interrupt his sleep. Just him and Iruka, laying in that comfortable bed with a pile of fluffy blankets, surrounded by a few of his Ninken who provided extra warmth. One of the times he'd woken up, he'd thought that Iruka had been curled up in his arms- but then again, that might've just been a really good dream.

To his disappointment, when he looked around, there was no Iruka to be seen. Even all eight of his Ninken were nowhere to be seen.

Groaning, he tossed the blankets off of himself and stood up, shivering when his bare feet hit the wooden floor. He ran a hand through his messy silver tresses and made his way out of the bedroom and to the living room, surprised to see Iruka already up and ready, fully clothed (aside from his shoes) with a bag on his back, a hair tie in his hand that he used to tie his chocolate-hued locks up into a ponytail. Upon hearing Kakashi enter the room, the brunette turned to face him, a bright smile on his face.

Kakashi leaned in the doorway between the hallway and the living room, giving a lazy wave. "Good morning, Iruka."

"Oh, I see you're awake, Kakashi," Iruka smiled, disappearing into the kitchen to grab a plate of food before appearing in the living room again. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, actually... That was the best I've slept in a long time."

"Me, too," Umino handed him the plate; scrambled eggs and sliced ham with a side of fruit salad, a small fork to be used resting on the side of the dish. "I made breakfast. I know it's not anything fancy, but-"

"Thanks, it's perfect," Kakashi cut the other man off, sitting down on his living room couch and hurriedly eating his food. He still had his mask off, but he didn't want to take forever and slow Iruka down. After all, that man was almost always busy. "What are your plans for today?"

"Well... I guess I'll go teach, stay after school to grade, and then head home for the night. Oh!" Iruka exited the room yet again, leaving Kakashi to quickly finish his food and pull his mask back up. He figured he'd be leaving the house soon and didn't really want everyone to see his face. In fact, having Iruka seeing it was different, but he trusted the brunette and didn't want to go through the hassle of eating while simultaneously hiding his face like he would in public when they were in private together in the confines of the younger man's apartment. Thankfully, he hadn't dressed too differently to go to Iruka's the night before, wearing his usual blue jumpsuit with his jonin jacket, his headband hanging around his neck. Suddenly remembering that his headband and jacket had been taken off in the brunette's room the night before when he'd been getting ready for bed, though, he went to go grab them. Once he got into the living room again with both items in hand, he slipped his jacket over his body and tied his headband around his forehead before pushing it down a bit to cover his left eye. Kakashi sat back down on the couch, watching as Iruka strolled back into the room, a bento in hand. He gave the boxed meal to Kakashi, which had the silver-haired man raising his eyebrows. "Here's lunch, by the way. I was making mine and figured that I might as well."

"My, I feel spoiled. You've covered, like, a day's worth of meals; last night's dinner, and now breakfast and lunch? I could get used to this."

"You know, I actually wouldn't be objected to that."

"I wouldn't be either," Kakashi muttered before quickly changing the subject, not wanting his words to be interpreted the wrong way. "You should probably be getting to class, yeah? I'll walk you there."

The two stood up and walked to the front door, both slipping their shoes on. Hatake, wanting to be careful with it, held the bento securely in one hand. Umino had practically frozen, appearing bashful as he nervously wrung his hands together.

"Oh, thank you, I..." Iruka trailed off, face bright red. For a moment, Kakashi stopped to think. Maybe all their friends were right, maybe those love letters were meant for him, and maybe he'd been oblivious to Iruka this whole time. Maybe it was true. But, he wasn't sure. So, he didn't bring it up, only exiting the apartment with the brunette by his side. They walked down the stairs together, getting to the ground and beginning their walk on the road as the sun began to rise. The sky was a soft orange, dashed with streaks of pink, yellow, and red that made Kakashi smile at their warmth. Hardly anyone was around. In a display of boldness, he reached over, grabbing Iruka's hand. He was afraid that the brunette would pull away when he got a confused stare, but Iruka only chuckled and intertwined their fingers, averting his gaze. "This is nice."

"Yeah," Kakashi agreed, his heart beating out of his chest as Iruka rested his head on his shoulder. "Yeah, it is."


	12. 2/12

Iruka Umino felt his face burn red due to two things.

The first was embarrassment, which was caused by the numerous jokes made by his students that day about him and Kakashi.

The second was pure heat, which was caused by him having to chase numerous students around the village after they'd run off in an attempt to escape after school detention. He was on his last student to catch, which was Konohamaru, who he knew would be the hardest. Even though he was only a genin, and even though he was immature, he was hardworking and talented. Physically active, creative, and talented in all sorts of substitutions and maneuvers that he could use to escape poor Iruka, Konohamaru could be evasive when he wanted to. Though Iruka could certainly catch another ninja- whether it be through using a capture jutsu, poison, weapon, or even something lethal if the situation was dire enough- this was Konohamaru, a ten-year-old old boy who he had absolutely no intention on letting get hurt, let alone hurting himself.

The dark-haired boy was visible, but hard to see as he ducked into one of the many crowds that filled the streets on this hot, busy day.

"Konohamaru! If you don't get back here right now-" He started, only to be cut off when he smacked right into the face of someone.

Or, to phrase it more accurately, when his face smacked right into someone else's face.

When his lips hit their clothed ones.

And, of course, that someone was no other than his crush, Kakashi Hatake. Momentarily forgetting about his chase in favor of focusing on his embarrassment, he jerked back. Though the kiss was somewhat blocked by Kakashi's mouth, their lips had slammed into each other because of Iruka not knowing where he was going, and he suddenly felt his stomach sink.

"Ah, Kakashi-Sensei-!"

"Oh... Hey, Iruka-Sensei," Kakashi snickered, his own cheeks clearly burning red under that mask, though instead of focusing on that, he pointed over Iruka's shoulder to where Konohamaru was currently making his escape. "Having trouble there?"

"Gosh darn it! He's getting away!"

"I can't believe you're actually having trouble tracking down a little not-even-genin, Iruka."

"Shut it, Kakashi!" Iruka scolded, turning to the silver-haired man with a weak smile. "Mind helping me out?"

"Ah, I've actually gotta head to the Hokage's office for a quick mission, and I'm already late because I got lost on the road of life. I'll see you later, though."

Before he could even respond, Kakashi was gone, and he was just standing there, hand on his mouth as he processed the fact that he basically directly but not actually directly because of the mask kissed Kakashi fucking Hatake.

"Screw my life. Konohama-!" He went to yell for his student again when no other than Asuma Sarutobi, the boy's uncle, came out of an alleyway with Konohamaru in hand. The dark-haired man sighed and approached Iruka, giving a small chuckle as he carried Konohamaru by the back of his shirt. "Oh, Asuma!"

"Looking for this one?" Asuma set his nephew down, and surprisingly, he stayed, knowing that he probably didn't fare a chance against both Asuma and Iruka- especially considering that Asuma was the one he lived with at the moment.

"Uncle Asuma! You've betrayed me!" Konohamaru pouted, kicking one of his sneaker-covered feet into the dirt on the ground as he crossed his arms over his chest and pouted.

"Wait until you're with Ebisu to give your teachers a hard time and I might back you up. When you're with Iruka? Eh, not so much."

"Fair point, but still, traitor! Big brother Naruto would've backed me up!" Iruka struggled not to frown at that. After Konohamaru's grandfather had died, he'd been in a bit of a rut, and Naruto, who'd acted as his main emotional support, had left to go train with Jiraiya. Naturally, after being around Naruto for so long and admiring him the way he did, Konohamaru couldn't help but compare a lot of the people in his life to the blonde.

"I'm a good thirteen years older than that kid, I smoke, and I have a beard. Do I look like Naruto to you, Konohamaru?" Konohamaru remained silent, so Asuma turned to Iruka, grinning and raising an eyebrow. "Why's he running this time?"

"I gave him and his friends detention because they made more jokes about Kakashi and I..." He wasn't sure just how much heat his face could radiate in one day, but for a moment, he thought it was almost limitless as he rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his finger. "Kissing in a tree. As soon as the bell rang, Konohamaru yelled 'scatter', and they all went in different directions across the village. I've been playing roundup with these children for the past hour, and I'd gotten all five except for Konohamaru, who I have now thanks to you."

"You gave him detention for telling the truth?" Asuma teased, making Iruka want to crawl into the bottom of a hole and die as both of the Sarutobis snickered at him.

"No, I gave him detention for making those jokes a good five times and constantly interrupting class even though I told him to stop on a few different occasions throughout the day. Honestly, I was just going to keep them for a good five minutes to teach them a small lesson about making jokes in regards to my love life, but now that they've pulled this, it's looking more like an hour."

"Ah, fair. I'll see you at home, alright?" Asuma patted his nephew's head before giving a smile and turning away, waving. "Be good."

With that, he was gone, and it was just Iruka and Konohamaru, silently walking back to the academy. When the brunette looked over at his student, he was surprised to see him frowning. Usually, when Konohamaru acted out and got caught, he'd be more amused by it than anything.

"...Konohamaru, you look sad. What's wrong? If this is about me giving you d-"

"It's not about that," The dark-haired boy spat, pulling his scarf closer to his mouth and staring at the ground as they walked. "I was gonna go visit Grandpa today. I've been busy training, so I haven't gotten the chance to all week because of curfew, and..." That actually made sense. Considering the fact that Konohamaru lived with Asuma because of his own parents' dangerous and inconsistent professions as Anbu, it was logical for him to have a curfew. Asuma wasn't strict by any means, but Konohamaru was still young, and it was reasonable for Asuma to want his nephew to get used to a schedule and responsibilities.

"Why didn't you tell that to Asuma-Sensei?"

"I thought he'd think I'm just using that to get out of detention. I'm really not." Konohamaru's gaze fell to the ground, eyes blinking at a rapid rate as he tried to get rid of his tears. It made sense that the Third's death had hit him hard- It'd hit Iruka hard, too, and he wasn't even related to the former Hokage. He couldn't imagine what Konohamaru was going through, nor could he imagine what was going through the boy's mind.

"I'll make a deal with you," Iruka started, crossing his arms as well. "We go back to the academy and tell all the other kids that their detention is over and that I have some super scary punishment for you. Then, when they're all gone, how about we both go visit your grandpa? I haven't been able to visit in a while either. Okay? That being said, though, you have to learn some boundaries. Kakashi-Sensei and I's relationship isn't something that should be joked about, let alone in public."

"So there is a relationship?" Konohamaru joked with a sniffle, wiping his tears with the back of his hand and offering the best teasing smile he could muster.

"...I hope so," Iruka muttered, voice soft as his mind bounced between whatever it was that he had with Kakashi and the ways he was trying to come up with to cheer up his student. "Anyways, let's go. Race you back to the academy?"

"Oh, you're so on!"


	13. 2/13

Kakashi smiled, stretched out against a sturdy tree branch, legs crossed and back leaning against the trunk as he read one of his favorite books in the Makeout series. Of course, the silver-haired man enjoyed his books- especially on a nice, quiet night like this- but when no other than Iruka Umino walked by and sat on the bench that was only a couple feet below the tree he was sitting in, his interest was piqued.

"Reading again, Kakashi?" Iruka leaned back, looking up and into the tree. Though Kakashi was mostly hidden by leaves and branches, he knew that Iruka could sense his presence- after all, the brunette had always been rather talented at picking up on other people's chakra, and Kakashi hadn't made any effort to hide from the younger man.

"Hey, Iruka," Kakashi greeted, pushing his book into the back pocket of his pants before hopping out of the tree and landing smoothly on the ground. Then, he walked to the bench and sat next to the brunette, who looked like he was much more relaxed than he had been the day before. "What ended up happening with Konohamaru yesterday?"

"You want the honest answer to that?" Iruka laughed, looking off to the side as he ran a hand through his ponytail.

Kakashi thought back to the past few days; going to Iruka's for dinner, staying the night at his house, and even kissing him- regardless of the fact that it was an accident. He was almost embarrassed, and he desperately wanted to make a move, though he wasn't sure how. At this point, he felt like it wasn't just a friend thing with Iruka, but he also didn't know how to take the next step forward.

"Obviously."

"Well... I think he was just acting up because of everything going on in his life right now. After the passing of Lord Third, he's changed a bit, and he's living with Asuma. I know Asuma's a good guy, and he tries to be there, but he's busy like Konohamaru's parents were, and he can be like a brick wall sometimes." That much was true. As nice as Asuma was, and as caring as he was, he often had trouble expressing it to the people closest to him- The Third when he'd been alive, Kurenai, and Konohamaru. Asuma was great, but he wasn't really the person you wanted to talk to about your feelings. "He did actually help me catch Konohamaru, but I didn't administer any sort of punishment."

"Not even detention?" Kakashi questioned, shocked. Sure, he knew Iruka was a little too lenient despite the strict face he tried to put on for his students, but with how utterly frustrated the brunette had looked yesterday, Kakashi figured that there would've been some sort of consequence for Konohamaru's actions. "You seemed pretty flustered when you were chasing him yesterday. What'd he even do in the first place?"

"...Him and his friends were making jokes about you and I kissing in a tree all throughout the schoolday even after I told them to stop, so I gave them detention and they all ran off in different directions throughout the village as soon as the school bell rang. All the other academy teachers were busy, so I had to catch all of five by myself, excluding Konohamaru, who was much harder to attain. Obviously, I couldn't use any capture jutsus that would physically harm them, so it made things harder."

"I would've," Kakashi chuckled, recalling a few incidents where he'd trapped Naruto and Sasuke in rope or something of the sort for trying to kill each other- an occurrence that happened more often than he would've liked to admit when the two were still under his wing.

"Your students are genin, though. Mine are basically babies."

"Fair point," Kakashi shrugged, shooting a glance in Iruka's direction when he noticed that their shoulders were brushing. Had he really been that close when he'd initially sat down, or had he subconsciously started moving in Iruka's direction? Maybe it'd been the other way around? He wasn't quite sure, but either way, he didn't mind it. "I think you're too nice to them sometimes. You seriously just let him go home after that?"

"Well, not necessarily... I was going to give him and his friends detention, but he talked about how he was going to go to the graveyard to visit his grandfather, and... It'd been a while since I'd visited," Iruka rested his elbows on his knees, leaning forward and clasping his hands together as he looked at the ground. Suddenly, Kakashi really wanted to hold those hands, to give Iruka a hug, but physical contact hadn't been his forte and just reaching out to hold the brunette's hand the day before yesterday had been more than enough for him. "So, we went back to the academy and made up some lie about me having this grievous, scary punishment for Konohamaru, and then after they left, him and I went to Lord Third's gravestone and paid our respects for an hour or two, talked things out. Then, I walked him back to Asuma's and went home... I hope he's feeling better."

"You're a good teacher." Regardless of his earlier hesitation, Kakashi reached over and placed a reassuring hand on his crush's shoulder, smiling under his mask when Iruka looked at him again. "Soft, but good. I hope you know that."

"I'm not soft!" Iruka pouted like a child, sitting up straight and crossing his arms. Though he looked in the opposite direction, he didn't move away from Kakashi's touch. "Just... Understanding."

"Right. Maybe you should learn to understand your surroundings a little better, because yesterday when you accidentally kissed me-"

"Kakashi! Um, about that-" Iruka started to talk, but Kakashi, suddenly feeling panicked and cornered, stood up. He hadn't been prepared for this at all. Maybe, if he could escape for a small amount of time, he could just confess the next day. After all, tomorrow was Valentine's day.

"Meet me up here tomorrow night at eight, okay?" Kakashi questioned, looking down at Iruka, who appeared to be terribly confused.

"U-Uh, okay! See you then! But don't you wanna talk about-?"

"See you then."

And with that, he was off, wondering exactly how he was going to word things when he met the brunette the next day to confess his feelings.


	14. 2/14

Iruka Umino was nervous as he approached the bench where he'd seen no other than his crush, Kakashi Hatake. Their interaction the night before had been quite odd, and after the older man's reaction to him mentioning the kiss, he was somewhat afraid of what might happen if he were to bring it up again. Still, though, it was Valentine's Day, he'd spent most of the day alone, and he wanted to spend the rest of the night with Kakashi.

To his delight, when he arrived at the bench, Kakashi was already there, sitting down and waiting for him. He approached the bench and grinned, sitting down next to the silver-haired man.

"Kakashi, how are you?" Iruka blinked when he felt his thigh brush against Kakashi's, thinking that maybe he'd sat a little too close by accident, but Kakashi didn't seem to mind it.

"I'm good. How are you, Sensei?"

"I'm well. Happy Valentine's day, by the way!" Holding out one box of candy hearts that he'd bought, Iruka's smile only grew when Kakashi took it. The brunette held the other one that he'd brought for himself, opening it and watching as Kakashi did the same. "I've come bearing gifts."

"Thanks," Kakashi chuckled, eating a few as well. "Now I feel bad for not bringing something."

"Don't," Iruka laughed, nervously eating a few of the candies. "I, um, wanted to talk about that kiss that happened the other day..."

"Right, I figured that was why you were so frantic when I brought it up yesterday. Sorry I just up and left, that probably gave you the wrong idea, but I wasn't prepared to talk about it yet."

"It's fine, but..." Iruka trailed off, waiting for some sort of explanation.

"I'm gonna be honest and get it out of the way," Kakashi leaned back in the bench for a moment, tense as he tightened his grip on the box of candy that was in his hand. "I liked it- loved it, even, but it would've been better if it were on purpose- and, you know, without my mask."

"Well! That's a relief." Iruka's heart swelled in his chest as he leaned forward, thanking whatever gods were out there for blessing him with this.

Surprisingly, the silver-haired man changed the subject to the candy hearts.

"You eat these every year?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, eating a few more. The crunch of them lightly entered Iruka's ears; a surprisingly calming sound.

"Ah, no... I never tried these as a kid-" Iruka admitted, looking off to the side for a moment. "Didn't have the money for candy, you know how it is. This is my first time actually trying them."

"Oh, right... I suppose I was in the same spot. I saved it for more important things, and I guess I never got around to spending my savings on anything aside from what I considered necessary and the occasional book- Maybe ramen for the kids when I still had them."

"Same, honestly- those things and school supplies... What even are these?" Iruka questioned, taking one out of the box and eyeing it incredulously. This one was white, with a little 'I love you' printed across it in barely legible pink. "They taste like sugar cubes, to be honest."

"Yeah, that's basically what they are," Kakashi said, but ate another one and set his box down on the bench, to the left of one of his thighs. "Nothing special, but I guess the sentimental aspect of the festivity is nice. I've never been a Valentine's Day person myself, but still."

"Why's that? I know you mentioned it, but we never really talked about it in depth."

"Simple. No one to celebrate with. My dad used to, though that was years ago. Nowadays I just treat it like any other day. I guess this could be considered an exception, though."

"I never had anyone to celebrate it with either after my parents passed away," Iruka explained, popping another candy heart into his mouth before setting the box down on the bench next to him. "But I try to celebrate, even if I don't have a significant other or a family of my own to celebrate with. At the very least, I have my students... I've tried to celebrate with Naruto by taking him for ramen these past couple years, but he hasn't been here, so I'm adjusting to that now."

"Yes, he's mentioned that to me," Kakashi ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "His routine for Valentine's seems to be waking up, trying out some elaborate scheme in an attempt to woo Sakura, failing, and then going out with you to drown his sorrows in ramen."

"Hopefully one day he finds someone who loves him back..." Iruka frowned, thinking of all of the times he'd seen Sakura act harshly towards Naruto. Then again, the blonde was overly-persistent and couldn't take a hint to save his life. Plus, Sakura- like most of the other girls in their graduating class- still liked Sasuke. It was almost as if none of those sweet little genin and chunin realized how young they were. Iruka hoped that they found love eventually, but he was logical enough to know that most people shouldn't end up with the person they liked when they were twelve or thirteen. "Then again, they are just kids. There's no way they're ready for that yet anyway."

"You're awfully focused on your students," Kakashi reached over, gingerly taking a silky strand of Iruka's long, brown hair and twirling it between one of his fingers. "When's the last time you've focused on yourself, Iruka?"

The brunette leaned back against the bench, staring up at the sky. It was dark outside, the only light around them being provided by the moon and the stars that were slightly obscured by the thin clouds.

"Good question! Haha... I really haven't ever focused on myself, but we're one in the same in that aspect, aren't we? I'm focused on my students, you're focused on your students, and when we're not focused on our students, we're focused on our jobs. It seems to be an endless cycle."

"You know what wouldn't be so bad?" Kakashi asked.

"Huh?" Iruka let out a small hum, sitting up again and giving his crush a curious glance.

"Focusing on each other."

"W-What!?" Iruka questioned, a large smile taking over his face. If that meant what he thought it meant, he was beyond excited, but at the same time, he was taken aback by the other man's bluntness.

"Sorry, let me phrase that differently... What I meant was that I'm rather fond of you- in love with you- I'm not quite sure how to phrase it, but..." Kakashi averted his gaze, subtly moving his hand to rest on Iruka's lower thigh. "I'm hoping that you feel the same?"

"O-Of course I do! I'm surprised you didn't already notice my feelings for you, I- I love you, too!" Iruka exclaimed, his eyes squeezed shut. Though he was relieved that Kakashi returned his feelings, part of him was still nervous. This was so new, and he didn't really know where things were going to go from there. And, when he got nervous... He rambled. "Remember a week or two ago when we all met up at the bar and you saw me with all those crumpled up papers? Those were failed attempts at love letters that I'd wanted to give you for Valentine's Day, and so was that one letter you found. I obviously ended up chickening out, t-" He cut himself off, surprised when Kakashi slowly began to pull his mask down, allowing it to hang loosely around his neck. "Oh my God, you're-"

"Taking my mask off? I mean, yeah, how else am I supposed to kiss you?" Kakashi questioned casually, as if he hadn't just revealed his never-before-seen face for the second time that week. "Doing it with the mask on would be awkward, no? It isn't an accident this time."

"Well, yeah, but...!"

"But what?" Kakashi teased, giving him a shit-eating grin. 

If Iruka was being honest, he was still getting used to the sight of Kakashi's face, but he tried not to let his shock become too evident.

"Oh, to heck with it!" With that, Iruka surged forward, pushing his lips against Kakashi's and moving to hold the silver-haired man's face in his hands. It was considerably better without the mask in the way, Kakashi's rough lips moving against Iruka's as he recovered from the initial shock of the brunette being the one to make the first move. Slowly, Kakashi tilted his head, leaning into the kiss and placing his gloved hands on Iruka's cheeks. 

The unspoken tension that had existed between the two dissipated at that moment, and Iruka felt himself melt against the older man, but he was running out of air in his lungs and he didn't exactly plan on getting heated in an area where anyone could walk by and see them. So, he pulled back, taking in a deep breath and shyly glancing up at Kakashi, his brown eyes meeting Kakashi's darker ones.

"You're a good kisser, but to heck with it?" Kakashi laughed at his earlier words, making Iruka pout. "You know I'm not one of your students, right?"

"Obviously not... I just kissed you. What can I say? I've gotten used to censoring myself."

"Cute," Kakashi smirked, earning one back from Iruka.

"You're cute."

"Hey, Iruka?" Kakashi's hand was slowly being pulled away from his face, and though Iruka missed the feel of the jonin's gloved hand on his cheek, he didn't object.

"Yeah?" Umino questioned, tilting his head in curiosity as he admired the way Hatake's smile looked without it being covered by his mask; bright, carefree, unadulterated beauty. Suddenly, the younger man wondered if he could stay trapped in that moment for the rest of his life with Kakashi smiling in front of him and the soft breeze running through his silky hair.

"C'mon," Kakashi suddenly grabbed his hand, standing up and pulling the brunette up with him, a lighthearted chuckle leaving his mouth. "We're going on a date."

"Huh? What about the candy?" Iruka questioned, looking at the two boxes of candy hearts that were still on the bench as he interlaced his fingers with the older man's.

"The candy hearts? We'll take them with."


End file.
